The Toxic Side Effects of West Virginia “Small Town” Values

It’s 5:49AM as I am finally getting started on this blog that I have been daydreaming about writing for weeks but have struggled to find the “tone” that I am now attempting to share with you.

I’ve now decided this blog is a personal reflection piece, likely selfishly helping my own mind understand and come to appreciate the choices I’ve made, but also as an open letter to the hundreds of thousands of young West Virginians that could find this helpful as they grapple with a similar inner dialogue.

The sun is not quite up yet, though I can tell it’s going to be one of those overwhelmingly beautiful orange color mornings by the cloud cover and early shadows starting to form.

I’m sitting on my couch in West Chester, Pennsylvania drinking a hot tea from a WVU mug, rocking an Escape to West Virginia sweatshirt that Mountaineer Media produces and wearing a New River Gorge hat I purchased from Lost Appalachia in Fayetteville a few weeks ago.

“Comfort clothes” you could call them.

Click to Purchase Mountaineer Media’s “Escape to West Virginia” line.

Let me briefly formally introduce myself to you as I recognize that many of you may be first time readers. My name is Cooper Simmerman, and I am the cofounder of Mountaineer Media, the very website you now find yourself on.

We founded this media advocacy group a few years ago because we grew tired of the abundant and harmful stereotypes that plague of the state of West Virginia. But instead of addressing them through memes, hateful comments or other short form “Oh, no you didn’t!!” style communication, we think it calls for more sophisticated & nuanced conversations.

We hope through our authentic storytelling podcasts, blogs, diverse social media content and small business partnerships, we can shine light on the good things going on here and the wonderful people that make those things happen.

Charleston, WV native Cooper Simmerman.

As I sit here now with my loyal morning creative partner, Ollie the spaniel/retriever mix, I think back about growing up in Almost Heaven and how I could barely imagine a world outside of the state’s borders. Being all-consumed with sports, playing in the woods, visiting family in Moundsville & Beckley, and knowing one day, I too would attend college in Morgantown and become a Mountaineer just like my parents and older sibling Taylor Simmerman.

Once I graduated from WVU with two business degrees in my pocket, I was faced with a decision… Do I venture out into the unknown and leave everything that’s familiar to me? Or do I stick around and find work within the hills I’ve lived in for decades.

Like many young ambitious West Virginians, I think it’s natural to develop “I gotta get outta here” kind of feelings.

Maybe you feel constrained by a conservative social culture in your small town. Maybe you have dreams of becoming a professional scuba diver, but quickly realized there aren’t too many viable work environments here for you in that profession.

Or maybe you’re simply looking for a fresh perspective & dream of new life experiences. Whatever your reasoning for wanting to leave the mountain state, I’m here to tell you that you should not be embarrassed, ashamed or made to feel “guilty” for wanting to leave the state. Let’s start there.

Too often when you come from a “small town” culture, it’s the people you love the most that judge & criticize you when you share your dreams with them.

You’ll be at a bonfire and hear “Gosh, you’re really going to move to Chicago? Don’t get shot!” or “You know how expensive rent is in New York City, right?” or “Florida is just too hot; I don’t know why you want to go there”.

My noncomprehensive theory on this kind of this toxic mindset and why it always seems to happen in small towns cultures goes like this:

From the late 1800s through let’s 1950, (just shy of the revolutionary 1960’s) it probably was NOT smart to be bold, creative, innovative or overly ambitious. Ya see, when you’re from a culture where blue collar hard work is not an option, but a mandatory way of life for almost everyone, you really cannot afford to take chances. You likely NEEDED to stay put, help on the family farm, go to work in the mines, keep your head down and simply survive.

This “all I need is right here” kind of mindset then becomes ingrained in a culture for decades. I suspect this is why even in a modern fast-moving, ever-changing job market, the same stale opinions still exist in small Appalachian towns.

These toxic mindsets of self-sabotage & fear of change are subconsciously dressed up like a kid on Halloween as the preservation of “tradition” & “family history” and otherwise admirable Appalachian values.

Often West Virginians are unaware they are wearing these harmful costumes and cling to the familiarity of “this is how it’s always been”.

Which is an absolute shame because when these mindsets and unspoken social contracts are allowed to grow… creativity, diversity and innovation becomes stifled. In a direct response to this, many talented West Virginians flee the state, never to return.

If I just described the reasoning behind why you feel compelled to leave or why you already left, while it bums me out to hear that, I cannot blame you.

Why stay in a place where you feel unwelcomed?

I am not here to convince you to come back. It’s not your moral duty to “change” or “improve” West Virginia. You’re an adult who can arrive at the best decision for you and your loved ones.

I suppose my goal is to share that you’re just in your feelings of frustration with WV culture. One does not have to be loyal to the state to which the were born, especially if they feel wronged by it.

But, I simultaneously encourage you to take your own prideful ownership of what it means to be West Virginian. Define it for yourself. Derive value from what YOU choose. Don’t be gaslighted into thinking you must be this or that to be Appalachian. Or god forbid you have a different opinion. THAT IS OKAY!

In my experiences, there’s no better feeling than being far away from home and stumbling into a fellow Mountaineer. 

West Virginians maybe more so than any other Americans, have a sense of pride about themselves and our state. It’s the reason I held up this flying WV flag on the Great Wall of China in 2018.

We’re almost always proving to ourselves and others that West Virginians are right there alongside everyone else, accomplishing major goals, despite our humble beginnings.

Cooper on the Great Wall of China outside of Beijing, China in 2018.

For me personally, life has taken me to Washington, DC and now Pennsylvania. My family still lives in West Virginia in the same home I grew up in. My work with Mountaineer Media brings me back home all the time. There is nothing I love more than meeting up with old friends and backpacking through the Monongahela National Forest. I daydream of rounds of golf during peak fall foliage deep within the Appalachian Mountains. In the coming years, I hope to buy a few dozen acres and build a dream cabin in Almost Heaven.

The reason I proudly share my West Virginia roots is that I believe West Virginia has now entered into a window of opportunity. I estimate we have about 5-10 years to capitalize on this momentum or risk allowing it to pass, locking West Virginia inside it’s own box.

We all know that West Virginia cannot afford to continue the toxic belief system I mentioned earlier. It’s harmed our state long enough. But I think a silver lining of the COIVD pandemic created an opportunity to West Virginia to embrace healthy and positive change.

You won’t find someone who will say they loved mandatory “social distancing” policies, but I think many would agree they came to have a deeper appreciation for fresh air and wide-open spaces. Supply chain turmoil disrupted grocery stores, causing many to think twice about what they are putting in their body. Maybe growing more of your food sounds appealing to some folks now.

The pandemic forced all of us to look inward and really ask ourselves what we value, where we spend our time & what we do from day to day.

With remote work becoming increasingly available, it’s more feasible than ever to work for Fortune 500 company and live in Thomas, WV. Maybe open a coffee shop and become part of the reason folks have a relaxing weekend getaway in Berkeley Springs, WV. Or maybe you could build an Airbnb for the tens of thousands of passionate four wheelin’ loving friends who flock to the Hatfield & McCoy trail system in the southern part of the state.

So, I think the tides are turning. I believe now more than ever West Virginia IS rewarding boldness, creativity, diversity and innovation.

I think new, loud, and passionate voices are welcomed.

Here at Mountaineer Media, we are committed to telling authentic West Virginia stories that allow you to feel pride in your home state, while also inspiring you to help shape our state’s future.